Sightseers and several parked cars are seen on one bank of the Tacoma Narrows. They are watching undulations of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, called "Galloping Gertie" in the State of Washington, United States. Scene shifts to the bridge roadway as vibrations and oscillations increase leading to the total destruction of the the bridge. Pulsating winds blowing through the narrows caused vibrations of the bridge to reach its natural resonance frequency resulting in increased amplitude of oscillations until the structure was destroyed. Leonard Coatsworth, a Tacoma newspaper editor, is seen walking from the bridge near its end after abandoning his car, which is still on the bridge, until it collapses.

Panorama of business district Tacoma in Washington, United States. Aerial view of buildings. A drawbridge. Ships at anchor. Pacific Avenue, the main business artery of Tacoma. Horse-drawn vans and pedestrian traffic. Several parks and open spaces in the city. Residential areas in the city. Point Defiance Park. Exterior of several buildings. Men walking in parks and towards the buildings. Complete change of scene, from Tacoma, to views of the first Thurston County Courthouse, in Olympia, Washington, where the State Legislature met in a new East Wing, from 1905 to 1927. (Aka the old Capitol).

J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) returns by airplane to Washington DC area after visiting Tacoma, Washington during the investigation into the kidnapping of 10 year old boy Charles Mattson from his house in Tacoma, Washington. Hoover's plane landing at the Washington Airport, also known as the Washington-Hoover airport, (and before that as Hoover Field) in Arlington, Virginia. The airport was located southwest of the intersection of the George Washington Parkway and the 14th Street Bridge in an area now under the water of the Boundary Channel, which was later dredged and enlarged to provide fill for Pentagon construction and to allow supply barge access during construction of the adjacent Pentagon. View of the airport terminal with sign "Washington Airport" visible on it. Hoover's plane flying over Military Road and arriving on the landing field. As it nears the airfield for landing, smoke is seen in the distance, likely burning at the garbage dump located near the river. Also seen are high tension electrical wires, industrial smokestacks, 600 foot radio towers, and other industrial buildings visible just past the narrow airfield. The plane taxis past the Eastern Air Transport hangar and other airport structures. Various billboard advertisements visible in the background on some of the buildings. Very brief 3-frame segment where J. Edgar Hoover is seen exiting the airplane operated by American Airlines. He steps into his car. He's seen shadowed in the car, talking to someone. The car drives away onto Military Road or Route 1.

Ceremonies at the dedication of U.S. Army Air Corps (AAC) base McChord Field near Tacoma in Pierce County, Washington. A large crowd gathered for the event. USAAC Douglas B-18 Bolos and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses on the ramp. Several aircraft parked around hangars. The spectators cheer and clap. B-18As in flight overhead. People watch the airplanes in flight.

An office entrance in Tacoma, Washington. Sign at door reads: "A.R. Blair & Co. Importers." A man smokes and reads the Tacoma Daily Ledger newspaper in his office. He reads the page with New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) prices for Thursday, August 30, 1928. A sign '"George R. McCall & Company, Stocks and Bonds, with offices at New York, Buffalo, Chicago & St. Louis." A number of the company's clients sit in chairs and watch as the latest stock prices are posted on display boards. Men are shown on the telephone communicating stock orders to their brokers. Hectic activity is seen on the New York Stock Exchange with floods of orders to buy shares. Men are seen in various places hovering over stock exchange ticker tapes running fast out of ticker tape machines. Scene of fireworks in the sky at the end.